Authors

Emily Farran
Emily Farran

Emily Farran is a professor in developmental psychology at the University of Surrey, carrying out research aimed at characterising typical and atypical development of cognitive functions in the developing ‎brain.

Find out more about her research on the University of Surrey’s spatial reasoning platform.

All articles by Emily Farran
Why spatial reasoning is the key to improving maths teaching
Spatial reasoning is an important skill that underpins many of the curriculum review’s recommendations for maths – yet it rarely gets the attention it deserves, writes Emily Farran
General
18 November 2025
Illustration of shapes and numbers
How to boost children’s spatial skills - and their maths performance
Training children’s spatial abilities improves maths performance, studies show – and new research from the University of Surrey identifies practical teaching methods to do just that
Primary
17 June 2025
spatial skills dinosaur
Timss: could a focus on spatial reasoning improve maths scores?
The latest Timss international rankings show English pupils’ weakness in key areas of maths – and our lack of focus on spatial reasoning is a major factor, argues Emily Farran
Primary
8 December 2024
Timss: could a focus on spatial reasoning improve England’s maths performance?